fixedpoint
New member
It's summer and that means vacation. My tank was left in the best condition I could manage, but after a few week long vacations, some nuisance algae has moved in. I've resumed normal husbandry (weekly 20% water changes, regular GFO/GAC, ...) as well as manually removing as much as I could (removed one bubble algae growth, pulled a bunch of filamentous algae, scrubbed rockwork, and removed snotty algae from overflow) and beefed up the CUC. Unfortunately, I lost some corals and my poor hammer coral and my candy cane coral lost a few heads. Parameters look good (0 nitrates, 0 phosphates, 440ppm calcium, 1400 magnesium, 10 dKH alk, 8.4 pH, 1.025 sg) but I know if there is a nutrient source that the algae may be pulling phosphates and/or nitrates out of the water.
Now, I'm down to the dirty business of getting my tank in order. I need help IDing the algae. Specifically, two kinds: (1) the layer of slimy brown algae that coats the rocks and some of the sand - it also seems to free float in the sump and overflow in snotty masses (2) the filamentous algae that has cropped up everywhere.
I am starting to believe that (1) is dinoflagalettes and (2) is bryopsis. Both seem to be very brown especially (1) although (2) may have a bit of green to it. It doesn't seem like (2) is GHA because it has a definite branching structure. But I have my doubts because (1) doesn't have the long strings that seem to characterize dinoflagalettes and I'm not sure if dinoflagalettes free float like snot as well as cover the sand and rock. (2) is very brown and now looking a bit white after two weeks of resumed husbandry - seems unlike bryopsis.
I'm anxious to confirm whether (1) is dinoflagalettes so that I don't end up killing my whole CUC with the toxins. Also, I have Kent Tech M ready for a bryopsis treatment on confirmation and I'm ready to do a 5 day blackout if dinoflagettes are indeed a problem (already dosing Kalk).
<b>Some of the snotty mess from the overflow</b>
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38664265/mystery1.JPG" width="800" />
<b>You can see some of the filamentous algae in one spot in particular, but it is spread sparsely across the rock. You can also see the film of algae on the rock work</b>
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38664265/mystery2.JPG" width="800" />
<b>You can see algae coating the rock work especially on the top (because of the angle. Also, you can see my sea hare (my 2 yr old daughter calls him "The Big Fat") crossing from the glass to the dead hammer coral branches.</b>
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38664265/mystery3.JPG" width="800" />
I can get more pics/info if needed.
Now, I'm down to the dirty business of getting my tank in order. I need help IDing the algae. Specifically, two kinds: (1) the layer of slimy brown algae that coats the rocks and some of the sand - it also seems to free float in the sump and overflow in snotty masses (2) the filamentous algae that has cropped up everywhere.
I am starting to believe that (1) is dinoflagalettes and (2) is bryopsis. Both seem to be very brown especially (1) although (2) may have a bit of green to it. It doesn't seem like (2) is GHA because it has a definite branching structure. But I have my doubts because (1) doesn't have the long strings that seem to characterize dinoflagalettes and I'm not sure if dinoflagalettes free float like snot as well as cover the sand and rock. (2) is very brown and now looking a bit white after two weeks of resumed husbandry - seems unlike bryopsis.
I'm anxious to confirm whether (1) is dinoflagalettes so that I don't end up killing my whole CUC with the toxins. Also, I have Kent Tech M ready for a bryopsis treatment on confirmation and I'm ready to do a 5 day blackout if dinoflagettes are indeed a problem (already dosing Kalk).
<b>Some of the snotty mess from the overflow</b>
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38664265/mystery1.JPG" width="800" />
<b>You can see some of the filamentous algae in one spot in particular, but it is spread sparsely across the rock. You can also see the film of algae on the rock work</b>
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38664265/mystery2.JPG" width="800" />
<b>You can see algae coating the rock work especially on the top (because of the angle. Also, you can see my sea hare (my 2 yr old daughter calls him "The Big Fat") crossing from the glass to the dead hammer coral branches.</b>
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38664265/mystery3.JPG" width="800" />
I can get more pics/info if needed.
